By Ted Waddell
HANCOCK — January 16, 2004 – With their “big stinger” Chris Ryman sidelined by a knee injury, the visiting Eldred Yellowjackets really didn’t stand much of a chance against The Family School Falcons in Wednesday night’s OCIAA Division VI game.
Luck was hanging on the rim for the Falcons as their shots slipped through the mesh with ease, while it seemed no matter how hard the Yellowjackets tried, their shots appeared to be deflected into another dimension. What used to be sure shot buckets for Eldred turned into goose eggs on the scoreboard.
On the way to a 68-34 win, The Family School (7-3, 3-0 OCIAA) outnumbered the opposition by a 9-2 margin in terms of players waiting in the wings.
Family School Coach Pat Simmons proved he was a class act by sending in his second string in the third period, thus avoiding what appeared destined to be an even bigger rout of Eldred (1-8, 0-3 OCIAA).
In the opening six minutes of the game, the Falcons blistered the boards and smoked the glass to grab a 14-0 lead, until Eldred’s tall timber Todd Walter put the Yellowjackets in the scorebook to make it a 14-2 ballgame.
Eldred Coach Doug Reiser was a man of few words after the 34-point pounding.
“It’s a different team without Chris Ryman,” he lamented.
Simmons said, “We got off to a quick start and ran the ball really well to push the ball and get out on an open floor.
“We played a hard, aggressive defense,” he added. “Eldred played a little short because their main guy was out.”
The Falcons outpaced the Yellowjackets in the first three quarters by 20-5, 21-7 and 20-9 margins, respectively. But Eldred outscored The Family School 13-7 in the final period.
The Family School had a trio of players attain double digits: Miles Farkas (17), Paul Cassidy (15) and Mike O’Brien (15). Farkas also grabbed seven rebounds and dished out six assists. O’Brien recorded six assists and six steals and Cassidy had 13 rebounds.
Kyle Ranne racked up 10 points for Eldred.